I smoke... there I said it..... Not inside the house...outside... where my kids don't get the smoke... NOR do I smoke in the car... I hate smoking.. with a passion. It's gross... it stinks.. and it's not good for myself or my family... plus it's getting extremely expensive...

Is there anybody else that will admit to this habit... and or tell me they did and how they stopped...

I tried:

hypnosis
gum
celery sticks
ice
pills (which I learned isn't good for me at all.. none of the smoking pills can I take )


I want to throw away my 1 lone ashtray forever...

HELP ME PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christi

I don't smoke, so I don't have any suggestions, but I will give you my vote of confidence! You can do whatever you put your mind too. And I think it's great that you don't smoke around your kids! I HATE seeing that!

Good luck with quitting!

Thank you for support

No prob! I know a lot of people who have quit! It's too bad you can't take the pills, my FIL has had great success with Chantix. You'll find a way though. I hope some of the other members have some good suggestions for you.

I just quit last November. I had smoked for a little more than 10 years, and was smoking about a pack and a half a day...always out on the patio or sitting on the front steps with friends, never in the house or the car.

I took Chantix to quit. It made me feel terrible. It actually felt like the first trimester of pregnancy, the nausea and fatigue, but I also couldn't sleep. I didn't take it for very long, but it got me through that first week or so when it feels like one weak moment is all it would take to start again...especially with friends like mine who didn't want to lose their smoke buddy and kept offering me one. I had to stay away from my smoking buddies for a little while until the physical urge to smoke had passed.

I also told myself that if I made it through one full month of not smoking, I could get my Kitchen Aid mixer...that was the light at the end of the tunnel

I'll be honest with you, everyone goes on about the benefits of not smoking but it hasn't made me feel very good. The benefits are: I can take a deep breath without that bubbly feel at the very end, I don't get colds as often as I did, I don't have two yellow fingers, and I have more money than I did. The downsides are: weight gain, depression (over now, thank goodness!), worse allergies.

Apparently every time you take a drag, it makes your heart beat faster. Faster heart rate = faster metabolism. So when you quit smoking, even if you're not eating more, you gain weight. From what I read, the average weight gain is 10%. That's what I gained and I think if I can just lose it, I'll feel a lot better. I didn't know it would make such a difference for me but it feels like I'm just dragging my body around a lot of the time.

My allergies got a lot worse. I can't go in my parents' house anymore because of the cats. I looked up why allergies get worse when you quit smoking, and apparently it's because smoking paralyzes the little hairs in the nose and when they start working again, your body remembers to be allergic to things...there's much more techincal ways to word it but that was the gist of it.

I'm sure there are lots of long-term benefits to quitting which I will appreciate more as time passes.

One big benefit is being a better role model for the kids. I know my daughters want to do everything I do, so I'm glad they don't see me smoking anymore.

Don't forget the benefit of not exposing innocent children to the harmful effects of second hand smoke! They can destroy their own bodies when they're adults!

My dad smoked around me so I am a big proponent of not smoking! It's my number one pet peeve! So sorry if I sound rude, I'm really not meaning too!

I never did smoke, but my FIL quit after at least 30 years of smoking. He got off caffeine at about the same time. (He was waking up in the middle of the night to make and drink a pot of coffee. The doctors were actually more concerned about the caffeine addiction than about nicotine addiction.) What did it for him was my husband and I (and my MIL) telling him that my son would not be visiting their home while he smoked. They live in Wisconsin and we are in Georgia, but it was enough in his case.

All this is to say, I KNOW you can do this. I have read a LOT of your posts, some about cake, and many others about other things that you have gone through. You are tough enough. Good luck.

Thank you

I am going to go buy some big ole bags of ice and just chew chew chew LOL...

I'm also a coffee drinker .. and love it.. but actually just started drinking it just over a year ago

When I was pregnant I loved to chew ice. My fave is Sonic ice! They DO sell it, you have to ask for it though! Well the Sonic nearest me sold it and yours might too! Just a little FYI if you like their ice!

YES!! SONIC ICE is the best!! that is what I craved with my first daughter! Now I just have to have it just because!

oooooh, ice was huge for me when i had my babies. the hospital had the best ice -just about like sonics! i didn't want to leave. i had NO appetite after i had them and barely when i was pregnant. i don't think i ever really ate the 4 days i was there (i guess 12 with all 3 babies). for once in my life no appetite. just about enough to keep me knocked up!

my husband now works at that hospital. i wonder if some ice would make it home. hhmmmm.... he also says that people who crave chewing ice may be iron deficiant or on the verge of it.

anywho, back on topic. you can do this christi. talk to your doctor. do it so you can live long enough to enjoy your grandbabies. plus when you do have grandbabies (a long time from now) you can visit in the hospital and eat their ice!

good luck girlfriend!

Christi, I don't smoke and never have but I hope the best for you and blessings on you while you work on quitting. (I don't believe in luck, only blessings. )

Both of my parents smoked and quit cold turkey - I don't know how. After my mom watched her dad die from emphysema, she quit but didn't tell us for 6 months, when she finally threw away the last 1/2 pack of cigs she carried around with her. She quit 30 yrs ago and still today, will crave something and finally realize it's a cigarette and just blow it off.

I never believed my dad would quite but I believe that if he hadn't, he would not still be alive today.

Just work each day individually and not look ahead. It's done 1 day at a time. One thing my mom realized is that she had certain "habits" when she would smoke and she had to rearrange her schedule a little to help.

Blessings!

I never have smoked but be careful chomping on ice. I did it for a couple of years. Then I had my hysterectomy and the cravings stopped. A little while later I went to the dentist (I hadn't been in a while) and the hygenist took one look in my mouth and asked me what had I been doing "eating rocks?". I had broken a couple of teeth and had cracks in a couple of others.

Diane

I quit the day I found out that I was going to be a grandmother. I did it by making a deal with God that if he would give us a healthy baby that I would never smoke again. I know that sounds crazy but it has worked for me. Everytime I would get the urge to light up, I thought about my grandchild. For years I did not care about my own health, but once I thought the well being of an innocent child was at stake, I could no way smoke again no matter how much I wanted one. It has been six years and I now have four grandchildren with one on the way in Sept. They are the light of my life and I am glad that I gave myself the chance to be around longer to enjoy and love them.

I always thought I smoked to help me handle my stress and anxiety, but have discovered that the smoking addiction actually added to the stress I was feeling.

You can do this Christi. It won't be easy in the beginning but you will never regret freeing yourself from this addiction. My thoughts will be with you.

Christi, as long as you're motivated, you'll find the method that works for you. You go girl!

I was an Olympic smoker for 10 years, quit for 6 years, then started again. It got to be a real inconvenience, as you are aware. And it was expensive. My daughter would write me tear-soaked letters telling me the cat smelled like smoke!

I wanted to quit, but none of those reasons motivated me enough. I was a SLAVE! Know what did it? I woke up one morning and saw a chubby person in the mirror. She wasn't there yesterday. Middle age snuck up on me in the middle of the night. Bottom line... smoking wasn't keeping me thin anymore. So, why do it? Plus, I couldn't exercise because I had no lung capacity.

I had heard good things about Zyban (Welbutrin) so decided to try it. I was between doctors, so I asked my dentist to prescribe it. He'd never heard of it. So, we sat and read the PDR together until I dozed off and he had the info he needed.

I was supposed to take it for 2 months. After one month, I had NO CRAVING WHATSOEVER!! I couldn't believe it! I didn't even bother with the second month.

Interestingly, the habit was harder to give up than the physical addiction. I would unconsciously reach for cigarettes that weren't there - and I didn't even want. My hand was a slow learner!

Had to give up lots of 'triggers' to reduce the temptation. My biggest regret is giving up scrapbooking because now, 7 years later, I haven't picked it back up. But scrapbooking and smoking were inseparable.

Another motivator was calculating how much money I saved a year by not buying cigarettes and having that number posted prominently on my computer monitor. I smoked premium cigs, so 7 years ago, it was over $1500. I don't think they make my brand anymore, but I can only imagine what they'd cost today! I don't know about you, but I ain't got that kind of disposable income!

I did gain weight, but I also started exercising voraciously, so it wasn't unmanagable and it didn't last long.

Another unexpected side effect was bleeding gums - something you'd think my DENTIST would have mentioned at the time! I've always had gum issues, but for cryin out loud, it looked like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre every time I brushed my teeth! Smoking restricts blood flow everywhere - including the gums. Once I quit, the floodgates opened, so to speak. It's better now, but kinda scary at the time!

I apologize for the novel (and not a very good one at that!). I'm very passionate about the subject because I know firsthand how difficult it is. I wish you nothing but success. We are here to support you!

Look into Zyban as one possible method. Just so you know, a friend of mine tried Zyban and it gave him weird dreams that affected his sleep so dramatically, he had to stop taking it. He went on to chew nicotine gum for over 2 years! Yuck!

Good luck, friend!

Hi Christi ~ I can't imagine what you're going through, because I have never smoked. But of course I know people who do and who have quit, and I would like to share some of what I know with you...

One of my close friends tried Chantix. It made him very VERY sick. He kept taking it and he no longer smokes, so I guess it worked. I was really worried about him when he was suffering through the side effects, though, but he is fine now. So if you talk to your doctor about meds, please-please-PLEASE be sure to ask about potential side effects, okay?

Also, my mom used to smoke. And she quit this year. (Yay!!!!!) She did it cold turkey! She's against taking meds, so what's out there neither appealed to her nor would they have worked if she tried (due to the side effects). Anyway, she also drinks tea and coffee, and she gave those up too for the first two months or so. She said at first she thought she was having a heart attack from all the withdrawal and had some trouble sleeping. But she stuck with it and has been smoke free since April I believe and she, like my friend, is doing just fine. She's also able to enjoy her tea and coffee again. She just takes it one day at a time and said it's much easier after she got past her "hump" (she said she drank a lot of water during those days).

I KNOW it wasn't easy for her, but she wants to be around to watch my niece/her granddaughter grow up, and to be with the rest of us who love her as well! And we're so proud of her!

Anyway, I (like so many others on this site), are right here beside you in your efforts to quit smoking. So many people love you and want you to be around as long as possible. I also think you'll feel so much healthier if you quit. I believe in you. I believe you can do it, and I just said a prayer for you.

~ Tracey

. . . hey Christi/wgoat5 . . . I smoked (up to 3 pkgs a day) for 20 years . . . and I quit (19 years ago) . . . if I can do it ANYBODY can . . . first I had to admit that it was a tool used against me (anything with that kind of hold on you IS an addiction) . . . then I had to WANT to quit (sound like you do) . . . and I had to lean on Him (I wasn't strong enough to beat it myself . . . I had to be reminded that we reap what we sow . . . if you sow nicotine - you reap cancer . . . and I lost my Dad to cancer) . . . your kids deserve their loving Mom around for a long, LONG time . . . your loving DH deserves to have his wife and mother of his children around for a long, LONG time (and shouldn't feel like he is licking an ashtray when he kisses you) . . . you want to "be there" for the graduations, the weddings, the grandkids . . . you deserve to be healthy . . . and like your old signature line "BE HAPPY" . . . you CAN do this . . . DO IT FOR YOU . . . YOU DESERVE IT . . . (getting off my soap box now) . . . and lifting you up in prayer . . . you can do this . . .

I smoked for three years and quit cold turkey when I became a Christian and got baptized like over 30 years ago--but let me hasten to say I look much younger

But umm, in the recent past I spent three weeks in hades while my sweet Momma spent many many more weeks in hell 'cause she could not get off the respirator after bypass surgery. She smoked the non-filtered ones during the war and all and the nurse said that was why--her little lungs could not do it. But she's a tough old bird, my Mom, she did get off that thing and I went home (500 miles away) and they accidently punctured her lung doing something else and back she went on the respirator. She got off it again too.

But Mom was blind and used a hearing aid. Her brain was ALL there and her spirit! But in the hospital you don't always have someone to put your hearing aid in and if she couldn't hear above the room noises or see she could not respond to anyone who came in the room and your mouth is got tubes so you can't talk of course so I stayed with her so people would know there's still a real person in that body that currently can't move, talk, see or probably hear you.

She had on those big cushy booties so she wouldn't get bed sores on her little heels. They looked a little dirty on the bottom so we were talking about how she was prolly running the halls at night when we weren't looking. Then we tried to remember the fairy tale where the kids got up and danced in their shoes after bedtime. She said through the tubes, The Nutcracker. The staff was so surprised but we knew SHE WAS THERE!

I read to her. We made it through.

So that's my horror story of smoking. Staying with Mom was not really the hard part. I did have to take tranquilizers every day. I took cabs couldn't drive. My family was not around. Just me and her and the hospital. It was being in the ICU and being surrounded by so much death and grief and reality. You get to know a family a little and then their loved one might not make it. The tsunamis of grief are overwhelming over and over.

My daughter is talking to her Doc about quitting smoking. I'm very happy for her. I never bug her. It's her decision. In fact her Doc would say, Are you ready to talk about quitting? Up until yesterday the answer was no.

So good for you. It's not easy. Remember my little Momma. Dude, we had her for another year after that.

Be kind to yourself. Don't be beating up on my cake-buddy.

k8memphis, your story was very touching. I cried reading it.

Christi - get pregnant! LOL That's what made me quit.

LOL NOOOO more babies LOL....


k8Memphis your story was a very bad tear jerker... I watched my father die a very slow hard death at home ... brought back memories ...

Diane... those triggers are what gets me scared...I crave a cig. in the morning with my coffee.... I go outside and smoke and drink my coffee on my beloved swing ... maybe I should get rid of my swing.. truly ... that makes since.. even give up coffee.. (but one thing at a time LOL)

To everybody else.. this is what we .. smokers... need.. A LOT of encouragement... you all have given me this ... and I WILL quit... I won't be buying anymore... I hate the way they make me smell.. and that my kids are embarrassed.. now remember I try not to let anybody see me smoke... even though no matter how hard I try I know they can smell it on me.. YUCK..


((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))) to all of you!!!

Christi, Good for you for reaching out to people to help you! Keep us informed of your progress.

Please stay away from the Chantix. I know a person who tried this and he became psycho! Seriously, there are a few hundred cases of suicide many Drs. attribute to this drug because how it messes with your brain chemicals (but I think the jury is still out on this (?)).

I too was a smoking addict. When I quit many moons ago I would listen to a self-hypnosis tape daily (ok - sounds crazy) but it relaxed me. I'd also pop in a yoga tape, take a nap, or go for a walk when I wanted a smoke. I know most people gain pounds when they quit, but I actually lost a few because I replaced it with more active pursuits.

I think the body rids itself of nicotine in 72 hours but it takes three weeks to break/start a physical habit. Maybe you could try to commit to three weeks and see where that takes you; with most addictions its a day at a time. I still sometimes have dreams where I am smoking and I wake up thinking "OMG, I have to go through quitting all over again!"

Best wishes with this - and give yourself a break if you have any slip-ups.

. . . yup . . . three weeks and you've got it beat . . . stay away from the drugs (you don't need them) . . . right now substitute your craving with a bottle of water (it will help you now and later, water doesn't have any calories ) and I don't recommend the ice thing either, unless you don't chew it (for the reasons mentioned by somebody else - your teeth will take a beating) . . . you can do this Christi . . . we're all behind you

Christi I know exactly how you feel. I smoked for 20 years, had three children, quit while pregnant with each, and started again after I got through nursing. I smoked outside, hid from my neighbors and family, and generally felt like a criminal. Lord knows I stunk, my biggest fear was that my children would smell like smoke, too. Even though I was ashamed I was still a slave to cigarettes.

About 5 years ago my father was diagnosed with lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos and smoking, a lethal combination. He had not smoked in over 30 years.

My sister and I were both smokers at the time and once we were in the emergency room with my dad for some complication and a nurse smelled smoke on us and gave us a very stern warning. It didn't make a difference, I was so stressed out during his 2 year illness that all I wanted to do was smoke. I couldn't get out of the hospital fast enough to get back to my car and light up. It made me feel terrible and very disloyal to my dad.

Anyway, long story short, here I am watching my dad die and I'm still smoking. One day when I was brushing my teeth I started coughing, that lovely deep smoker's cough. When I spit I noticed blood in the sink. A lot of blood. I felt like cold water was running through my veins, I was so scared. Turns out, I had dislodged something stuck deeply between two teeth and the blood was from that and not coughed up from my lungs. But God! What a visual. I have not have one cigarette since that day.

I just never thought cancer would happen to me, even as I was losing my dad. It was certainly a wake up call. While it was not effortless to quit, and even now I linger nearby when someone lights up just to get a brief whiff, I am not tempted to smoke.

I had tried the patches and the gum in the past, but what finally worked for me was quitting cold turkey because I was too scared to smoke anymore. I do not wish anything that scary happening to you, but I do hope you can find the strength and determination to quit. Just do it. Don't buy (or bum) anymore cigarettes. You can't smoke 'em if you don't have any! You will be amazed at how much extra time you have on your hands.

More time to make cakes!!!!

Sorry so long, but I wanted you know that you are not alone. Good luck.

Kim

Christi, You have made a choice that you will never regret. Yes, it is hard getting through the first two weeks, and I would suggest changing your habits that make you want a cig. You want to quit and you need support around you. This means no nagging, just encouragement. Anyone that you are around regularly for the first two weeks has to understand that you will be extremely irritable and to just get out of your way. However you decide to quit is whatever you can stick to. I know you say you do not smoke around you kids, but in truth, it clings to your clothes and they are still getting the scent of your smoke. Speaking of scent, you get yours back.

I would love to know if all the people that smoke, sucked on a pacifier when they were babies. Just curious if smoking is the same type of comfort sensation that babies have.

I remember when I was in high school and my father asked me to go to the other side of the house to get his cigar. I flat out refused, knowing that with his temper, I would probably get smacked. He looked at me and asked why I refused. I told him I was not contributing to his death and besides, I could not see the tv with the smoke from his cigar. My husband was never allowed to smoke around me or my son, because we are both allergic to the smoke. My son would get nose bleeds and I get migraines.

My husband stopped the cig's but now smokes a pipe occasionally. On the other hand, when my son was a junior in college, he started smoking. He is always sick and his hands shake all the time. I am trying to get him to stop, without nagging, but he has to want to himself. His new wife quite on her own cold turkey and I am hoping he will also.

Anyway, I am proud of you for reaching out for support and you will get plenty here. Maybe we could be like AA, when you feel the need to smoke, log on and somebody can talk you out of it. Well, it's worth a try.

Let us know when you decide to throw away the last one. Go buy some tootsie pops to suck on. Isn't that what Kojak did?

I only smoke in the summer and then only when it's not too hot to be outside. Hubby and I have decided that we must not have the recently discovered "addictive" gene because to stop smoking, we just don't buy another pack.

Hubby stopped years ago when daughter said, "Daddy, will you stop smoking?" and he put 'em down then and there. A few weeks later she said, "Daddy, will you stop drinking beer?" and he said, "Kid, don't be nuts!"

But I DO understand the turmoil of those who can't just stop like we can ... my sister was 3 packs a day and she quit (1) while she was pregnant and (2) permanently when her kids were small because they had ear infections all the time and she figured it was due to her in-house smoking. So watching her go thru the physical pains of withdrawal (and they ARE real pains ... she went to the doctor because she thought she was having a heart attack and it was just nicotene withdrawal!)

I have to admire all of you who have quit. I cannot imagine how hard it is since I never did it. I just know from hearing about it how rough it can be and I am proud of all of you.

I've never smoked but I attend auricular acupuncture clinics with people that are trying to quit. They say the acupuncture really helps them. We have free auricular acupuncture clinics here and I love them. It is so relaxing. I go 2-3 times a week for anxiety.

Does your community have quit smoking groups or classes? Here they even have stop smoking weekends which are free. They take you away for the weekend as a group and have activities etc to help you through your first 48 hours of not smoking.

Keep us posted on how you are doing.

Ok .. well this is the first morning that I haven't "slipped" a little bit. I got up very early and decided if I had coffee then I was going to want a cancer stick... so I didn't fix coffee. I'M MISERABLE

Christi, just prayed for you. You can do this. (((HUGS)))